VANCOUVER, B.C. — Although it mostly looks like a bear, the Minnesota Wild have never officially said what creature is represented on the sharp logo they wear on their sweaters. But whatever animal it is, it’s apparently a bad idea to back one into a corner.

Less than 20 minutes from seeing their playoff fate slip from their control, the Wild mounted a furious comeback on Saturday for a 3-2 overtime win over the Canucks in Vancouver, which notably increases the chances Minnesota will return to the playoffs after a one-season absence.

Trailing by a pair at the start of the third period, the Wild got late goals from Brock Faber and Marcus Foligno to forge a tie, and Kirill Kaprizov set up Mats Zuccarello in the extra session to help the Wild open up a five-point standings lead on Calgary, their closest pursuer.

The Wild need just a point in their season finale on Tuesday to clinch a playoff berth.

Minnesota Wild’s Mats Zuccarello (36) celebrate after scoring the winning goal against Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

“The expectation was to get back to a style of game that gives us a chance to win. I thought we did that tonight. And just happy for the guys,” said Wild coach John Hynes, who had been disappointed a night earlier when his team missed a chance to clinch in a 4-2 loss in Calgary.

“It was a long night last night, and then you come in tonight, and I thought we played a pretty solid game,” Hynes said. “And to come out and continue to push in the third period and get rewarded for it is obviously a big two points for us. But I think it’s important for another reinforcement of when we do the right things and play the right way, we’re a hard team to play against and give ourselves a good chance to win.”

Filip Gustavsson had 12 saves for the Wild, who head back to Minnesota for the regular-season finale having won three of their last four.

Playing before a smaller audience, due in part to the fact that Vancouver was eliminated from the playoff race days earlier, the Canucks got the crowd involved early regardless when defenseman Marcus Pettersson found a small gap over Gustavsson’s right shoulder barely 3 minutes into the game.

The Wild outshot Vancouver in the first period and had the game’s initial power play but were frustrated by goaltender Kevin Lankinen for their second consecutive game against the Canucks’ backup netminder.

Minnesota’s already-thin defensive ranks lost another man early in the second period when Petterson hit Declan Chisholm hard into the end boards. While it was deemed a clean hit, with no penalty called on the play, Chisholm’s helmeted head made hard contact with the glass, and he was helped from the ice.

Hynes and his staff rotated five defensemen for the rest of the period, which has been an all-too-common challenge for the Wild in this injury-plagued season. Already were without injured Jared Spurgeon and Jake Middleton, the Wild got Chisholm back in the third period.

“I mean, you see that happen and you’re like, you know, ‘Here we go again.’ But I’m glad he was OK and just shaken up,” Foligno said. “If it’s a full-on head hit, then somebody would have been done, but you know, it’s tough. You’re walking that line of answering it and not trying to hurt the team at the same time.”

The visitors took a pair of penalties in the middle frame, killing the first one, but seeing Jake DeBrusk slide to the side of the net and clank a shot past Gustavsson for a 2-0 Canucks lead after two periods.

Faber got his 10th goal of the season just 22 seconds into the third, cleaning up a loose puck in the low slot, and giving the visitors some much-needed life. Minnesota went down another man a few minutes later when fourth line wing Yakov Trenin was ejected following a fight with former Duluth East standout Derek Forbort.

Then Ryan Hartman fed Foligno in front of the net to knot the score in a third period the Wild dominated from start to finish. In overtime, Kaprizov circled with the puck to draw the Vancouver defenders to him, which left Zuccarello wide open in front of the net for the game-winner.

“It’s a little bit long shift. I don’t know how many circles we did in our zone,” said Kaprizov, averaging a goal a game since returning to the lineup last week. “Just try and play in the moment. Nice play by Zuccy.”

Hynes said he does not believe it was a set play.

“I think it’s just those two guys. They have the chemistry … when they get in some of those situations,” the coach said. “It happens 5 on 5, if they’re on the same line, but when they get in special situations, 3 on 3, power plays, things like that, I think it’s just the natural instincts. There’s a little bit more time and space on the ice, and the skill level and the talent that they have combined with the chemistry is tough to defend.”

Lankinen finished with 30 saves for Vancouver.

Middleton missed his fourth contest in a row with an upper body injury, and captain Spurgeon sat out after reportedly taking a puck to the throat in Friday’s loss at Calgary. Hynes did not offer a severity assessment of Spurgeon’s injury before the game. Cameron Crotty made his Wild debut on the blue line, playing in his second-ever NHL game after getting into one contest for Arizona last season.

The Wild will have Sunday off, then are expected to have a roster addition for their Monday practice in St. Paul. Denver defenseman Zeev Buium is widely anticipated to sign with the team and arrive in Minnesota in time to meet the team, get in a few skates and make his NHL debut on Tuesday.

Anthony Edwards will be on the floor Sunday when the Timberwolves attempt to secure their fourth straight playoff berth with a win over the tanking Jazz.

Edwards picked up his 18th technical foul of the season in Minnesota’s blowout win Friday over Brooklyn, which would have resulted in another one-game suspension had it stood. But the NBA announced on Saturday it had rescinded the tech, so Edwards will be available.

The Wolves are 21.5 point favorites to beat the Jazz.

After the game, Edwards said he told the ref “where was the (bleeping) foul?” after he was whistled for an infraction.

“I hope they look at it and rescind it so I can play in a couple day,” Edwards said after the game. “I’m praying they rescind it. I don’t feel it should’ve been a tech.”

Minnesota players and coaches pleaded with the officials immediately after the call was made, to no avail.

“I did not really get a good or clear explanation,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said of the tech. “It didn’t seem like there was any egregious or overly demonstrative (action) or anything like that.”

In a pool report, NBA official Bill Kennedy said Edwards received the tech “for use of profanity directed toward an official.”

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VANCOUVER, B.C. – Any parent of a goaltender will tell you that the list of tools needed to play the position effectively is voluminous and costly.

You need a helmet, neck guard, chest protector, glove, stick, hockey pants, leg pads, hockey socks, undergarments, socks, skates and everything else that comes with the trade of putting your body in the way of pucks that are fired sometimes at well over 100 miles per hour.

In addition to all of those tools, Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury added one more item to his arsenal at a young age, and has played thousands of games with it to date:

A smile.

Sometime soon, Fleury – who turned 40 earlier this season – will play the final NHL game of a career that will undoubtedly be celebrated in the Hockey Hall of Fame in short order. He may have already done so, after he announced early on that 2024-25 would be the last campaign of his storied career. On Wednesday, April 9 in St. Paul, Fleury made what will surely be his final home start for the Wild, finishing with 24 saves in a chaotic 8-7 overtime win versus the San Jose Sharks.

In doing so, even though statistically it was not an evening that he will gloat about, Fleury grabbed another NHL record with his 70th career overtime win. More important than the record were the two standings points earned that night, pushing Minnesota to the brink of clinching a playoff spot. And even more important for Fleury were his children joining him on the ice for the national anthem before the game.

“I thought it was cool. And I think it’ll be good memories for me, for them, right,” he said, with a broad smile. “Just to be on the ice and see what it feels like to be there and having all the people around. And, yeah, that was pretty cool.”

Two nights later, in Calgary, he played the final dozen minutes in a 4-2 loss to the Flames, coming on in relief (to thunderous applause from the fans at the Saddledome) in relief of Filip Gustavsson. The original plan was to have Fleury start the Wild’s road finale in Vancouver, but that idea was scrapped when the team fell flat in Calgary.

Honored everywhere

Whenever the end officially comes for Fleury’s career, which began in 2003 after the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted him first overall that summer, Fleury will walk away as one of the game’s legends, on and off the ice. He backstopped the Penguins to three Stanley Cup victories earlier in his career, and led the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to within a few wins of another Cup in their inaugural season in Nevada.

Although he never played for a team in his home province of Quebec, Fleury was given a lengthy on-ice tribute and standing ovation in Montreal as he blanked the Canadiens earlier this season.

Fleury and NHL scoring star Alex Ovechkin were on-ice adversaries for decades when the goalie’s Penguins were battling the scorer’s Washington Capitals for Eastern Conference supremacy. But following their final meeting in St. Paul last month, Ovechkin and all of the Capitals lined up after their game at Xcel Energy Center to give Fleury one last on-ice handshake.

When the Wild played in Pittsburgh in October, there was another on-ice tribute of note. Same thing in Las Vegas when the Wild played there in January. For the humble Fleury, it has all seemed surreal.

“I think they were all nice. You can’t just pick one … It’s always fun to see those old videos,” he said. “In Pittsburgh, I was there for so long, it was my team for so long. So it was weird to be there for one last time. The send-off right from the fans, and even throughout the game, you know, the cheers and stuff. We’re human right? You get the goosebumps, the butterflies and all that stuff. It just brings back so many good memories.”

Of the NHL record number of goals scored by Ovechkin, he has gotten more past Fleury than any other goalie. In the moment, Fleury joked that Ovechkin’s on-ice salute was because the Russian sniper was sorry to see his favorite foil retire. But in retrospect, Fleury took a warm look back.

“Honestly, I loved what Ovi did. We had so many battles, and he’s one of the best. Now the best scorer. But one of the best players, and I think it brings the best in you,” Fleury said. “You’re trying to stop him and trying to beat him, and I don’t know, maybe I give a little less blocker than I used to in front of the net. I got in trouble sometimes with the older guys. Maybe I’m not mean enough in the crease. But like I said, I love the game. I respect all the guys in it and the way they play. I love to compete. Hopefully that’s something you see.”

Goalie coaches generally want their puck stoppers to be “quiet” not in terms of how much they vocalize on the ice, but in how calmly they play their position. There is a belief in some circles that an acrobatic save is a result of a goalie not properly playing his position, and the best goalies make simple, uninteresting saves because they’re positioned properly to cut off the angle of a shot.

Fleury, in practice and in accomplishment, has never been quiet. He roams the crease from post to post, sometimes sliding and sometimes diving to make save after save, and to collect win after win. Fleury will retire with his name second in the NHL record book for both wins and games played, only behind another Quebec kid — New Jersey Devils legend Martin Brodeur.

Furious race to the finale

With the 4 Nations break in February forcing a condensed NHL schedule that has had the Wild playing on a mostly every other night pace for the past six weeks, Fleury cannot fathom how rapidly the end of the ride is approaching.

“I just feel the last few weeks have gone by so quick. Like, we’ve been playing every other day pretty much. So it’s like you play, you go on the ice a little bit, go home, get to rest a bit, and then play again. And keep doing it, travel in there and stuff,” he said. “So I just feel like it flew by so quick. And it’s like pressure games, stressful games. We’re so close to making the playoffs here. But, yeah, playing is always more fun. You enjoy it more definitely. But I know my role. I know why I’m here for, and Gus has been amazing, very consistent, very good, and is a fun guy to cheer for.”

As for the “what’s next” after that final horn blows and the career is officially done, Fleury is keeping options open. He and his family will stay in Minnesota, at least for now. And after his wife and children have had their lives revolve around dad’s career for years, he said it’s time to give back to family.

“I think I want to be home more. I wanna be there for the kids’ birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, whatever,” he said, admitting that a career in team management is more appealing that coaching, at least initially.

“I want to be there with them, and from there, I talked to my wife too. She’s sacrificed a lot for me to play hockey all these years.” Fleury said. “So see what interests her and we’ll see. I still gotta find something, though.”

After a life spent feeling at home in the crease with pucks being shot his way, Fleury will sure find a home and a love doing whatever comes next, and with family at his side.

And without question, he will do it with a smile.

The Penguins left this flower arrangement for Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury near the visitor’s dressing room before Tuesday night’s game between Minnesota and Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena. Twenty-nine is the number Fleury wears with the Wild, and during his 13 years with the Penguins. The Wild won 5-3. (John Shipley / Pioneer Press)
Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Minnesota Wild keeps an eye on the puck behind Andrew Copp #18 of the Detroit Red Wings during the second period at Little Caesars Arena on Feb. 22, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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The 2016 Twins lost 103 games, leading them to the first overall pick and the opportunity to draft Royce Lewis.

The 1988 group recovered from its poor start to finish 20 games over .500. And the 1981 team’s poor start got its manager, Johnny Goryl, fired.

The jury’s still out on how the 2025 Twins will end up, but their dismal start has put them in the company of those three teams. With a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, the Twins now own a 4-11 record, which is tied for the worst in team history through 15 games.

The latest loss, one in which they were shut out by Detroit’s prized pitching prospect, Jackson Jobe, prompted Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to suggest that the Twins could start shaking things up soon.

“You’ve got to shock yourself sometimes and wake yourself up sometimes,” Baldelli said. “We might be pretty close to that because we’ve got to play better baseball, and it’s not just one or two guys.”

But what, exactly, does that mean?

It can mean “a lot of different things,” Baldelli said. And perhaps some of those things will be visible in the coming days.

“Sometimes you’ve got to just not do the same thing every single day,” Baldelli said. “It could mean absolutely anything. I think we could be getting there where we need to make some adjustments, we need to do some different things, try some guys in different spots. And that could be one way of shaking it up a little bit.”

On the roster side, the Twins could be close to welcoming back infielder Brooks Lee, who has been rehabbing with the Triple-A Saints after suffering back spasms during spring training. Lee should help shore up the defense, which has been a sore spot this season.

His return would mean someone’s roster spot is in jeopardy, with Jose Miranda being among the candidates. Miranda is off to a poor start at the plate and did not start on Friday or Saturday, though he did enter late Saturday and made a baserunning mistake.

But beyond simply getting Lee — and eventually Lewis — back won’t be enough for the Twins, who have a long way to go to pull themselves out of the hole they’ve created.

“Everyone goes through challenging times and things like that,” Baldelli said. “You can’t succumb to despair or that emotion when things are just not pumping your way. You’ve got to find a way to just stay positive, bring good energy, work hard, and good things follow.”

Jeffers sits

Christian Vázquez drew his second straight start on Saturday, a rarity for a Twins catcher, because Ryan Jeffers is dealing with a minor thumb injury.

Jeffers, who came in off the bench Friday night, needed medical attention during the game because his finger was bleeding. He was originally supposed to be in the lineup, but Baldelli said the catcher’s thumb had swelled up and he instead received treatment.

“A little blood is something that sometimes in our game happens, but when it started to really swell up and get pretty painful, then we have to act on it,” Baldelli said.

Briefly

The Twins designated reliever Scott Blewett for assignment and recalled left-hander Kody Funderburk, who gave up a two-run home run in Saturday. The Tigers had five left-handed hitters in Saturday’s starting lineup. Funderburk joins Danny Coulombe, who has been used heavily recently, as the two lefties in the Twins’ bullpen. … Simeon Woods Richardson will start the series finale against the Tigers, coming off a start in which he threw a career-high 107 pitches.

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